Where We've Been

We're home! I have internet access again!!
We spent the past week in Montreat, North Carolina. Michael was attending a worship conference of traditional music and I was enjoying the beautiful weather. Brenna spent the week in summer camp-like clubs, and Daniel spent the week screaming NO and throwing temper tantrums. Ok, maybe not the whole week, but a good portion of it. We shared this house below with 6 other people from our church, so each tantrum felt more intense and out of control than it probably was.

I absolutely fell in love with this porch. The weather was gorgeous all week, with a breeze every day. I spent Daniel's nap times sewing and reading out here. At night, we would light the citronella candles and talk or play games. Daniel loved it out here too. One of the biggest challenges, was keeping him away from the steps.

The house was built in 1907. It's fully furnished with even books on the shelves and collectibles in the cabinets. The table you see in the picture below bowed terribly in the middle. I noticed every morning when the milk on my cereal slid noticeably to one side!

The kitchen. Since the house is backed into the side of the mountain, the views out the kitchen window are of ivy covered stone retaining walls.

The four of us shared an upstairs bedroom. A curtain separated the room - which was helpful in getting Daniel to go to sleep at night. The house does not have AC, but it got so cold at night that it didn't matter. We brought blankets, but I still woke up cold two or three nights.

Two cute kids on the steps.
The trek up the mountain was very steep. We went down and up several times a day - sometimes with the stroller, sometimes making Daniel walk. It was so steep that with every step, Daniel would say "whoa...whoa...whoa..."

Tuesday night we drove over to Hickory, NC to meet our friends Jonathan and Tara for dinner. Afterwards, we prolonged the visit as long as possible, talking in the parking lot. Between our cars was a small grassy space with a tree. Brenna and Lexie had a grand time climbing the tree.

Back at Montreat....These stone walls were everywhere.
Here's a picture across the lake and showing the inn known as Assembly Inn. Our house is tucked in the trees up and to the left of the inn.

One of the things Brenna got to do in Clubs was the paddle boats. By chance Michael happened by the lake, with his camera, while she was steering the boat. She loved the clubs and was sad to say goodbye to her new friends on Friday.

This last picture is off the auditorium used for worship and concerts during the week. It was packed every time. During the last concert, it was so full, we had to sit in the very back with the basses in the adult choir! The organ is in the center and most of the choirs simply sing from their seats. The building is round and the sound has no trouble filling the air.

I have a few other pictures from the last day...but I'll start another post for them.